Axiom Investors LLC DE Cuts Stake in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)

Axiom Investors LLC DE decreased its stake in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 57,255 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,630 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Texas Roadhouse were worth $10,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 898,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $158,679,000 after purchasing an additional 403,720 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,129 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Texas Roadhouse by 120.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,403 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 2,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Texas Roadhouse by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,039,000 after buying an additional 5,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ TXRH opened at $171.05 on Monday. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.75 and a 12-month high of $206.04. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.78.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse, Inc. will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Texas Roadhouse’s payout ratio is 42.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TXRH. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $213.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $185.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.36.

Insider Transactions at Texas Roadhouse

In related news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total transaction of $245,860.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,794,600. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Curtis Warfield sold 4,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.80, for a total transaction of $749,172.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,802,661.60. This trade represents a 29.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Profile

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.